Heretofore many occassions have arisen where it was at least highly desirable to produce a cephalogram which would have the quality of reproducibility. For example, in the case of orthodontic procedures it is necessary to be able to produce cephalograms, spaced in time, to determine the degree of correction obtained by the procedures employed. If the patient is an infant, or unable to stand or sit in order to be able to have such cephalograms taken by conventional X-ray units designed for this purpose, the practitioner is, more often than not, unable to obtain the required cephalostatic cephalograms and must rely, in the main, upon the visual appearance of the patient or variably magnified and distorted cephalograms which, of course, may be deceiving of the actual situation.
In the instance of oral surgery, for example, if surgery were being performed on the jaw, it would be a distinct advantage for the surgeon to be able to determine the jaw configuration while the patient was still on the operating table. However, the prior art does not provide apparatus permitting such cephalograms to be taken of the patient while still on the operating table.
Further, in cases of cranial surgery, especially where the cranial bone is cut-off during the procedure, as, for example, in infants and young children, for the remediation of early cranial suture closure, it would be of great advantage to the surgeon. That is, it is not uncommon in such procedures to insert bone markers on either side of a bone cut and to periodically thereafter take radiograms to see if the spacing between such bone markers, as well as naturally occuring land marks, has increased indicating displacement growth in the cranial system. It would be of material advantage to the surgeon if a pre-surgical and post-surgical cephalogram could be obtained showing the bone markers and cranial structures while the patient is still on the operating table. Also, such radiograms are difficult to obtain during the patient's convalescence due to patient age and need for sedation to obtain them. Again, the prior art does not provide apparatus enabling such cephalograms to be taken of the patient while still on the operating table or in an X-ray department under sedation.
In all of such exemplory situations, among others, the purpose of the cephalogram is to be able to study and determine changes occurring over a significant span of time in, primarily, the bone structure of the patient. In order to be able to compare a series of such (spaced-in-time) cephalograms, and from that accurately determine what if any changes have occurred, and if occurred, the degree thereof, all variables must be eliminated in the process of obtaining each cephalogram. The prior art has failed to provide such apparatus with such capabilities which, further, could be employed in obtaining cephalograms of infants, invalids incapable of either standing or sitting, or of patients still on the operating table.
The invention as herein disclosed is directed generally to the solution of the above and other related and attendant problems of the prior art.